Primaries spawn last-minute registration surge

Neil Vigdor

Updated 10:21 pm, Monday, August 13, 2012

Both major political parties picked up more new voters during the past two weeks than the previous two months in Greenwich, according to local election officials, who attributed the last-minute surge to interest in Tuesday's U.S. Senate primaries.

Greenwich is the hometown of wrestling mogul Linda McMahon, the favorite to capture the Republican nomination over former Congressman Christopher Shays.

Democrats will choose between U.S. Rep. Christopher Murphy, D-Conn., and former Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz, with the two primary winners facing off in the November general election.

"Registering is only half of it," said Fred DeCaro III, the town's Republican registrar of voters. "You've got to show up at the polls."

The polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Since Aug. 1, the number of registered Republicans has increased from 12,824 to 12,883, tallies from the registrars show. Democrats went from 8,264 to 8,280.

During the months of June and July, enrollment in both parties was down, which the registrars said stemmed from their efforts to remove the names of ineligible voters such as those who moved out of town.

The deadline for accepting new registrations or for unaffiliated voters to enroll in either party was noon Monday.

"We had a number that came in this morning," Sharon Vecchiolla, the Democratic registrar, said Monday. "It's always nice when people kind of wake up and say, `I'm not registered for this primary,' and then come in."

A low turnout is expected for the primaries, both of which are perceived as runaways and fall in the middle of summer vacation for many residents.

"I'd say 25 (percent) would be generous," DeCaro said.

The town is slated to employ about 120 election workers at a dozen poll locations, with each earning between $170 to $300 for the day, depending on their job.

People who show up to vote and whose eligibility is in question will be allowed to cast a provisional ballot, according to DeCaro, who said the registrars must then rule if the person's status is legitimate.

"We have as registrars six days to research the matter and then determine whether that ballot should be counted," DeCaro said.